Amelia Kondilios is a Manager within our Private Clients practice and one of the National Co-Chairs for GLEE@PwC, PwC’s employee-led LGBTI network. She also participated in PwC’s LGBTI Authentic Leaders program.
With a career that has so far spanned eleven years, having joined via the Trainee program, Amelia’s day-to-day sees her collaborating with her Family Office team to provide tax and advisory services and advice to high-net wealth individuals and their families.
The specific work undertaken “mostly involves discretionary family trusts, family group structuring, superannuation and asset protection with a focus on building and managing family wealth in a tax effective manner.”
More than helping clients realise their financial goals, the element of the role Amelia finds most rewarding is the building of authentic, trust-based relationships that enable her to deliver meaningful value.
“My clients vary in background and profile but my favourite part of the job is building trusted relationships with them and learning more about how we can provide value by helping grow and protect their family wealth.”
Amelia admits she “never actually expected to still be here” purely due to an initial curiosity about trying something different. However, she’s since discovered the dynamic nature of Private Clients means you can gain broad career exposure, often collaborating with different service lines, without having to actually change jobs.
“The work I do and the client base I have was never something I thought I would want - or enjoy. Eleven years in, I think my decision to stay in Private Clients has been the best one yet, with the exception of convincing my partner to move to London with me when I gained a secondment opportunity!”
During her time here, Amelia has experienced PwC’s cultural evolution towards a more holistic people offering - where fostering a community that is both progressive and inclusive is at the forefront of business strategy.
An initiative embodying this is PwC’s LGBTI Authentic Leaders program, which aims to develop the leadership potential of our LGBTI identifying staff to provide them with the necessary skills and experiences to become the future leaders of our business.
“The Authentic Leaders program has been incredible. I never thought I would ever be able to work with a group of amazing LGBTI identifying people and talk about what makes us tick.”
When Amelia began her career in 2008 she describes it as a time when gay people were still not as widely accepted by wider society, which is a noticeable difference to her current workplace experience.
“Now, I have so many people I look up to and mentors who identify as part of the LGBTI community. This is something I never thought possible when I was a ‘not yet out in the workplace’ 18 year old!”
“All of us have used our different experiences to teach each other about how to improve our leadership skills - and support each other through difficult times. Between us, there have been a few that’s for sure!”
On the importance of being supported by leadership Amelia says, "being able to bring your whole self to work is something I value more than anything at PwC. It allows me to create my own brand that is centered around what I value most".
Ask Amelia what surprises her most about PwC and she’ll say “nothing surprises me at PwC anymore!”, before identifying the level of professional and personal support available to everyone in the PwC community.
“We provide amazing support for everyone, regardless of background and life experiences. My Partner group in particular have supported me from a Trainee to now Manager and I wouldn’t be where I am today if they hadn’t backed me from day one. I think that says a lot about our culture and makes PwC a great place to work every day.”
Interested in a career in Private Clients? Explore current opportunities